Category Archives: Foreign Forces

Norwegian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII

During World War II a great number of volunteers from Norway served within the ranks of the German Wehrmacht. Prior to 1940, there were few such volunteers, but after the invasion, their numbers increased dramatically totaling around 50,000 by wars end. Nowhere did Norwegians serve in greater numbers than in the ranks of the Waffen-SS, […]

Russian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII

It is not known when and where exactly the first units of volunteers from the USSR, and from the countries annexed by Russia after 1939, were organized to fight against the Soviets on the German side. Their beginnings were shrouded in great secrecy, for fear of Hitler who was categorically opposed to any form of […]

Spaniard Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII

Perhaps one of the most successful volunteer contingents to have fought for Germany, in terms of fierce fighting spirit and battle worthiness were the Spanish Volunteers. The war situation in spring of 1941 was bleak for Great Britain and her few existing allies; the Balkans, Greece, and Crete had fallen in short order beneath the […]

WW2 Eastern Ethnic Legions

Without going into too much historical detail about motivations such as anti-Soviet sentiment, long-standing ethnic rivalries among the Caucasian peoples, etc, let it suffice to say that a strong tribal – nationalistic sentiment among the Georgians, Azerbaidjanis, Turkoman, Kazaks, Khirgiz, and Uzbeks, just to name a few, was the prime factor upon which the Germans […]